See Prologue for ratings, disclaimer and other information.

Author's Note: WOW! Thanks for all the great feedback, everyone. It's very encouraging!

Spoilers for: The Miller's Daughter

Chapter V

Esmeralda

"They say," The man told the bundle in his arms, "that the Romani know all that was, is, and will be. They are in touch with the deepest and most ancient magics."

Prince Henry rode through the forest with no guards or company save for the precious baby he held close to his heart. He had not known love until his daughter had been placed, fluid covered and wailing, into his arms. She was three months old and still he stared at her in wonder. Her eyes had darkened to match his own dark brown and her hair, once so sparse and light, had become thick and dark. She looked like him. She was his precious princess and he would love her absolutely and always.

"My mother, your grandmother, had a Romani nursemaid and she taught her the Old Ways."

His father had not approved of the Old Ways. He was a man who worried about money and power more than the magics of nature and the balance of forces. Henry missed his mother more than he could explain. She'd possessed a sharp tongue, a quick wit and a kind heart. The night he and Cora had danced he had thought he'd seen a bit of his mother sparkling in the eyes behind the stolen mask. He'd been wrong. She was more like his father then his mother. She had bought their marriage with the straw she spun to gold. He was her way to power, and their marriage was his father's way of refilling the kingdom's coffers. All he had received from the marriage pact was Regina. He looked down at her, asleep against his chest, and knew that she was worth more to him then magic gold or a cold throne.

"When each of us, your aunts, uncles and I, were born my mother took us to the woods. I don't know how but she always knew where to find the Romani, the Gypsies. There was an old woman, a soothsayer, and she would tell Mother of our destinies." He was deeply worried for his daughter. Cora practiced magic, but it was not all spinning wheels and gold. There were darker spells and each day she grew more and more comfortable with using them. She was becoming more like him, like the imp. He didn't want Cora's darkness to touch Regina. He had to know that she would be protected from it. He had to ask his mother's chosen people for help.

The scouts found him long before he found the caravan. There was an empty road and in the blink of an eye two archers and a man with a rapier stood in his path.

"State your business."

The Romani recognized no kingdoms or kings. "My name is Henry, son of Rose, and I've brought my child to see Patia the Soothsayer."

A fourth person stepped out of the dark tangle of trees, "Patia no longer travels in this realm."

Henry recognized the phrase and felt his heart sink, Patia had been his mother's nursemaid and had blessed him and all of his siblings.

He lowered his head, "May her journey be ever-bright."

He tugged the reigns to turn around and go home.

"Her granddaughters serve as our soothsayers now. They will see you, Son of Rose."

One of the men led him through the maze of tents and wagons to a familiar red and green tent. He dismounted from his horse and knew, without being told, that the young man would see to his steed. The Romani would consider it rude not to see to a visitor's horse. The movement jostled Regina awake, but she did not cry. She gurgled a little and when he looked down at her, she smiled.

He stepped ducked inside of the tent and when his eyes adjusted lowered his head in a sign of respect. "Thank you for seeing me, Soothsayers."

The first woman, her face hidden by a heavy green cloak and hood, nodded to him. "Our clan has known your family for many generations, Son of Rose."

The second woman, hidden in a red cloak, stepped towards him, "And who is this?"

He shifted the baby in his arms, "This is Regina, my first born."

The first woman waved a hand over the baby's now uncovered head and immediately stepped backwards. The second woman let her hand hover over the baby's head for a moment then also stumbled away.

"We will not bless this child."

The first woman's voice was horse and her words harshly spoken.

The second woman shook her head, "Go, Son of Rose, and do the merciful thing."

Henry pulled Regina close to his chest again, "The merciful thing?"

"Drown the babe in the nearest stream."

Henry's jaw dropped open, "What blasphemy do you speak?!"

The third woman stepped forward, and placed herself between Henry and the other two soothsayers. She was taller than the first two and robed in a purple cloak.

"Let me see the child."

Henry shook his head and took a step back, "I will not let anyone hurt my daughter."

"I will not harm her, Son of Rose, I give my word."

There was something in her voice that he trusted. His mother had taught him that a Romani never broke their word.

She reached out and the sleeve of her dress slid back to reveal bright pink burn scars. She took Regina and the baby, who usually protested being held by anyone new, gurgled happily. The woman touched the baby's smooth forehead with two slender fingers.

"This child has a dark cloud around her, Son of Rose."

Fear, the same fear that had been squirming in his gut since he'd caught Cora mucking around with a book of magic spells, crawled up his throat. "What does that mean?"

The purple clad woman pushed a dark strand of hair off of the baby's forehead, "She will bring wonders and sorrows to our world. She has been touched by The Dark One."

"The Imp."

He hissed the words through gritted teeth. What had Cora done to their child?

The Romani soothsayer let out a small sigh, "What are you willing to give up for this child's happiness?"

Henry spoke immediately and without thought, "Anything-everything."

The woman switched Regina to one arm and used the newly freed one to push back her hood.

Henry was immediately struck dumb by the most incredible green eyes he'd ever seen. The woman was an exotic beauty the likes of which he had never beheld. She had dark, luminous hair and a face that could make an angel weep. Her face, though beautifully formed, was marked by a viscous red scar that cleaved her lips and cut across one cheek. This mark, he knew, was one of violence. He knew what a sword stroke to the face looked like. He could not fathom who could attack such a beautiful woman.

His hands responded without his command. He brushed his thumb across her scarred cheek. "Tell me who did this, Lady. They will not escape The King's Justice." His whole hand came alive with sparks when he touched her.

"He is far out of your king's reach, Son of Rose."

Henry dropped his hand, "You just told me that my daughter will be the sorrow of the world, I think you can call me Henry, Soothsayer."

The woman looked away from him, "Henry, then. You will have to sacrifice your very life to give your daughter even the smallest chance of happiness. She will go to the ends of this world and beyond searching for her happiness. She will sow revenge and war and reap only loss and sadness."

Tears sprang to his eyes, "Because of my wife and the imp?"

The emerald eyed soothsayer lowered her eyes to look at the baby in her arms. "The choices she makes will ultimately be hers, but I cannot deny that I see their machinations in her life, like ever-present shadows on the wall.

Henry fell to his knees before her, "Please tell me what to do. Surely there is something. Are you telling me that she will never have love or happiness? That she will be a demon with no redemption?"

The woman lowered to her knees in front of him and held the baby out to him. "There is always redemption, Henry-father of Regina, and there is always love. Hers will be a long, complicated story but it is not without light or love."

He took the baby and held her close, so close and so tight that Regina began to wiggle in discomfort. "I can save her, then?"

She touched his face, as gently as he had hers, "She will have a savior." She closed her eyes, the words tugged a tear out of her eye, "But not you, it is not your destiny. I'm sorry."

Two hands, one on each shoulder, violently tugged the soothsayer away from him.

"Sister!" The green one exclaimed.

"We cannot have anything to do with this dark child." The red one said gravely.

She shook herself loose of them. "I saw my destiny with the child."

Both women shook their heads so violently that their hoods slid back.

"You cannot."

"The leader will forbid it."

"Esmeralda do not do this!"

Henry let the name settle in his mind, it was as foreign and lovely as the woman it belonged to.

"She will need a guide in this life."

He lifted himself to one knee, was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"Please." He tugged the bottom of her robe, like a peasant begging a king, "Please help me, Esmeralda. Help me save my daughter."

The woman in the green cloak sighed, "He is weak. His love for this dark child will be the end of us all."

The woman in red shook her head, "His love is a weakness this world cannot afford."

Henry's head fell forward, he was too overwrought to hold it steady anymore. How many times had he heard his father say that? Love was weakness. He had never believed it until now.

Esmeralda tugged Henry's head back up forcing him to look deep into her eyes, "No."

She touched his face, sending vibrations through his entire being, "Love is always strength."

Esmeralda moved her other hand to touch the babe's chubby face gently, "and love is the only thing that can save this child."

AN 2: When I started this story I knew that I wanted to explore all many characters and Henry Sr is someone who intrigues me. The love is weakness/strength argument is an important part of Regina's character and began long before Daniel.